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 Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 5:19 pm
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THIS THREAD HAS NOW CAUGHT UP WITH ITS IDENTICAL STORY POST ON FANFICTION.NET. IT WILL NOW BE UPDATED AS THE CHAPTERS COME OUT, IN FULL CHAPTERS--NOT HALVES.
All right everyone, I started this fan fiction a long time ago, and thought I should post it on Gaia, since I already have it up on Fanfiction.net. This story is one of those OC replacing a main character stories, so if anyone doesn't like reading about characters not in the anime or manga, stop reading now. Haruno Sakura was replaced with one of my OCs, because I was extremely curious as to how it would turn out.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, squealing from fan girls would be banned because it hurts my ears and makes a cold shiver go up my spine…
"Talking"
Thinking
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
:;Seeing the Truth;:
Chapter 1: Takamaru Akina
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
The crowd parted as a young girl walked through, followed by, interestingly enough, a large black wolf. Whispers started as she trudged slowly towards the Academy for the team assignments.
“Is that…?”
“It’s the wolf girl!”
“The orphan.”
They stared after the girl, their gazes were filled with pity, sadness, and slight fear. But she paid no heed to them.
Why?
Because Takamaru Akina was blind.
And by some odd turn of events, was graduating one year early, with the upperclassmen. Most thought of it as a fluke, but the Hokage knew it wasn’t. By all means, she should have became a genin long ago, but lacked the drive; the motivation.
Takamaru Akina had no dream to follow, and no will to succeed. All she had was Kouseki, the black she-wolf that had taken care of her for as long as she can remember, which wasn’t too far back, considering that she can only remember back to when she was six.
Kouseki cast a golden-eyed glare to all the villagers surrounding them as she followed her ‘pup’ diligently. She snorted internally. The ningen don’t change do they…
Sensing her caretaker’s thoughts, Akina stopped in front of the Academy and tilted her head slightly at the canine.
Akina was a petite girl with ebony hair in two low ponytails that reached her back. Long bangs that framed her face covered up part of the black hitai-ate that covered her eyes. She had capris and the standard shinobi sandals, zori. A fishnet shirt over a tight t-shirt that loosened as it went down showed some of her stomach from her open jacket.
Her entire outfit was black except the dark blue jacket, and her torso was covered in bandages. Black half gloves with metal plates were on her hands.
Kouseki shook these thoughts from her head and nudged Akina’s hand, signaling her to move on. She nodded in response and walked into the loudest classroom as if she could see perfectly fine.
Akina slid open the door, and all noise instantly stopped at their arrival.
Ino had stopped arguing with Ami, another fan of Sasuke’s ((AN: The purple-haired bully from the flower class…)) and instantly became uncomfortable now that Akina had arrived. She knew it was a fact that Akina was blind, but couldn’t help but feel her gaze penetrating her soul.
She gulped, and tried to cover up her unease. “Hey blind girl! Did you bump into anyone on your way here?”
Some of the class snickered quietly, but Akina ignored them in favor of sitting down in her seat next to Sasuke, who acknowledged her with a barely audible murmur of greeting.
He didn’t mind Akina, as she wasn’t one of his fan girls and didn’t bother him.
Shikamaru stirred from his slumber at the sudden rise in noise. Right when it got quiet enough for me to sleep too… He turned his head slightly and saw Akina. Half-shrugging, he fell asleep again, not in the least bit concerned. Chouji did the same.
They knew how being picked on felt like and sympathized.
Akamaru jumped off of Kiba’s head and headed over to Kouseki (who had lay down in the back of the classroom) to greet her. Kiba looked down from his seat and grinned at the girl.
“Yo, Akina-chan!”
Kiba was the closest to Akina, since she had a wolf partner. He treated her like a little sister since she was younger, and was the only one who could get more than a sentence out of her at a time.
She nodded and quietly replied,"Ohayo, Kiba, Akamaru."
The door slammed open again and revealed a panting Naruto, who looked like he had just woken up. He was proudly displaying his headband and looked for a place to sit. He saw an empty seat next to Akina (she is sitting where Sakura would be sitting) and bounded over, yelling his “GOOD MORNING!”
Sasuke suppressed a cringe, and Akina nodded at Naruto in greeting.
“GET OUT OF MY SEAT NO-EYES!”
Both Sasuke and Akina inwardly winced at the shrill voice, especially Akina since she was blind and had her other senses heightened. Ino was in front of Akina, glaring at her after finally getting the nerve to come over and demanding her seat.
Akina faced her calmly and frowned ever so slightly. They stayed that way while Naruto hopped up onto the desk in front of Sasuke, glaring at him for being the center of attention. Sasuke glared back, creating sparks.
The boy in front of Naruto leaned back in his chair, hitting Naruto in the process. He began to topple towards Sasuke, who started to shrink back in apprehension. Akina quickly stood up and placed her hand between their mouths right before the inevitable ‘kiss’.
The class grew quiet again as the two boys stared at each other in shock. Shrieks erupted from all the girls in the classroom (excluding Hinata and Akina).
“GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF SASUKE’S INNOCENT LIPS!”
“NARUTO YOU BAKA!”
“LET GO OF HIM, b***h!”
Unfortunately Naruto had not noticed the screaming and was crouching down and trying to get the image of the two rivals kissing out of his mind. He failed to sense the doom that was about to fall upon him.
Akina frowned again in annoyance. Kouseki chuckled in the background. She loved trouble. Akamaru heard his companion’s sadistic laughs and lay down with his paws over his ears. Kiba grinned in anticipation of the fight that was to come.
Sighing silently, she stood next to Naruto and nudged him with her foot. He looked up and saw her facing the growing mob of angry fan girls. He gulped and sweated.
Ino took the lead.
“GET THEM!”
All of the girls jumped them at the same time and created a dust cloud of flailing arms and legs next to Sasuke’s desk. His eye twitched slightly. Damn fan girls…
He noticed Akina and Naruto sitting next to him again without a scratch and glanced back at the mob of fan girls.
They didn’t look like they noticed.
He looked at the two survivors. Naruto looked slightly confused as to how he got back to safety. Akina was sitting as calmly as ever. He narrowed his eyes a little.
Up until now, Akina had shown nothing but average skills in both academics and physical training. She was hiding something…
Iruka came into his classroom to find the still fighting group of girls and whistled. They stopped and looked around to see everybody staring at them. They saw Akina and Naruto safe from harm. Glaring (and covered in bruises and cuts) they all sat down.
Iruka smiled proudly at all of his students, his gaze lingering on Naruto for a moment longer, remembering the night before when he learned the truth about himself and saved his sensei’s life.
“Today, you will all take the first step into the ninja life and serve this village. Congratulations on graduating the Ninja Academy!”
The class cheered, whether at the mention of “graduating” and getting out of the school, or actually becoming ninja.
“Today, I will be assigning you to three-man teams under a jounin-sensei.”
Sasuke grimaced. Three-man teams? All of them will weigh me down…
Akina showed no reaction, having already known this.
“Team 1…”
Akina kept one ear on Iruka’s voice and listened to all the prayers for certain team mates going around the room with slight interest.
Naruto: Not Sasuke. Not Sasuke. Not Sasuke.
Hinata (in a tiny mumble): Please let me be on Naruto-kun’s team…
Ino and various other fan girls: Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke.
“Team Seven! Uchiha Sasuke…”
All the fan girls tensed and doubled their efforts.
“Uzumaki Naruto…”
He groaned and slammed his head on his desk. The girls’ whispers could now be heard in the background.
“…and…”
Iruka smiled teasingly at his students as he saw most of the girls on the edge of their seats. They held their breaths.
“Takamaru Akina.”
“NOOOOOO!”
Naruto stopped his head banging and sighed in slight relief. Being on Akina’s team was okay, since she didn’t treat him any different from others. Sasuke was his problem. Then he growled and jumped onto his desk, pointing at his male team mate angrily.
“Hey Iruka-sensei! Why does a great ninja like me have to be on that teme’s team! Switch him out!”
Iruka sighed and rubbed his temples.
“Naruto. The teams were made to be balanced. You are the dead-last. Sasuke is the Rookie of the year. Akina is there to balance you both out since she’s in the middle.”
He looked like he was about to yell again.
“And besides, Hokage-sama himself decided these teams. If you have a problem, take it up with him.”
He groaned and slumped in his desk. Sasuke smirked at him.
“Just don’t slow me down…dobe.”
Naruto shot him a death glare.
“Naruto-san. Sasuke-san.”
Immediately she had their attention, whether they wanted to or not. Akina didn’t speak that often, and when she did it was usually important.
“We are team mates. Stop arguing.”
Kouseki snickered behind her paw in the back of the class. Straight and to the point. Nice job, pup.
Both boys hmmphed and turned away form each other. Leaving Akina to rub her temples at the coming head ache like Iruka was currently doing.
“Team 8! Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino.”
Hinata frowned at not being put on Naruto’s team. But at least she was with her childhood friends.
“Team 10. Nara Shikamaru, Akamichi Chouji, Yamanaka Ino.”
The bell rang, signaling that it was lunch.
“Please get to know your team mates over lunch and go to your assigned class rooms after to meet your new sensei! Remember, I’m proud of you all!”
Naruto’s stomach gurgled and he held it in pain. Akina tilted her head slightly. She took in his scent and smelled expired milk.
Kouseki was nearly in tears from laughter after the scene in the class room. Akamaru sighed slightly and waited with his master to leave.
The genin that would in the future be called the Rookie Nine stayed back to keep out of the mob pushing its way out of the small doorway. Most were looking at Naruto in amusement or interest.
“Naruto-san.”
He looked up from his pain.
“Try not to drink expired milk from now on…”
Kiba burst into laughter, grinning. Chouji smiled slightly and nudged Shikamaru awake (he mumbled) so they can leave. Ino was still frozen in shock and anger at the team arrangements. She shook it off and trudged up in front of Akina, glaring. She pointed at her angrily.
“No-eyes…why the hell do you get to be with Sasuke-kun? It should be me!” She clenched her hands into fists. Akina seemed to take no notice and calmly ‘stared’ back at her. The rest of their class mates looked on in interest or concern (Kiba).
She snarled and cocked her fist back, throwing it at Akina’s face. She stopped herself an inch from her nose, and Akina hadn’t moved or reacted at all.
Ino smirked mockingly. “Heh…I knew it. The blind girl can’t even sense a punch being thrown at her. Loser. Sasuke-kun will never fall for you. I’m sure of it.”
The rest of the kids frowned. Sasuke especially, since he was sitting right there and was being treated like a trophy.
With that, she left, but not without being growled at by Akamaru and Kouseki.
Shikamaru rolled his neck and sighed. “How troublesome…” he mumbled, “we have to put up with that until we’re chuunin…I’m gonna die.”
Naruto brought the attention back to himself after he groaned in pain again. He got up hurriedly to go to the bathroom and would have fallen flat on his face after tripping if not for Akina grasping the back of his jacket to keep him balanced.
He smiled thankfully at Akina.
“Arigatou Akina-chan! That’s twice!”
She shrugged slightly. “We’re team mates now.”
He grinned and hurried towards the bathroom to relieve himself.
The rest of Team 7, 8, and 10 started to leave, but not without the casting Akina looks of earned respect or acknowledgment for not responding to Ino even if she could have.
((AN: Err…Ino=b***h…o.0…she’ll improve eventually…))
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Akina exited with Kiba, Akamaru, and Kouseki towards the shade of a tree outside to eat lunch. Kiba talked animatedly as always about being a ninja and about the teams. He grinned at the thought of Akina’s little performances in the class room and asked why she didn’t try harder if she was able to do that stuff. She just shrugged.
“I didn’t feel like it until now.”
The bell rang after they finished eating, and they all walked back together. Kouseki padded beside Akina, coming to her elbows. She looked big enough to be ridden by a small person like the Takamaru.
The two canine-users parted ways to meet up with their respective teams.
3 hours later, Sasuke, Naruto, Akina, and Kouseki were still waiting for their sensei. Naruto was getting extremely agitated, and was showing it by ranting.
“ARGH! That’s it!”
He set a trap in the shouji door, grinning in anticipation. Sasuke frowned.
“Our sensei is a jounin. An elite ninja. There’s no way that he’ll fall for a simple trick like that.”
Not a minute later, a hand opened the door and a shower of chalk dust fell upon a silver head.
Hatake Kakashi had finally arrived.
His bored eye scanned the room.
He saw a hyperactive (and laughing) blonde.
A brooding brunette boy.
And a black haired girl that was blind folded with her headband sitting next to a very large black wolf that looked to be laughing just as much as the blonde.
“My first impression of you is…”
All four paid attention.
“I hate you.”
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Out on the roof of the school, Team 7 gathered. Kakashi stood in front of the two 12 year olds and 11 year old.
They were in the following order: Sasuke, Naruto, Akina, and Kouseki.
“All right. Let’s introduce ourselves.”
Naruto cocked his head. “Why don’t you go first, sensei? We don’t even know you!”
Kakashi smiled…or at least that’s what they thought he was doing, seeing as his face was almost entirely covered.
“Okay. I’m Hatake Kakashi. I have a lot of likes and dislikes, but you don't need to know any of them. As for dreams for the future? I won't tell you but... I do have a lot of hobbies.”
Kouseki cocked her head in amusement. This ningen smelled of nin-dogs and had an…interesting personality. Naruto grumbled about not learning anything except his name.
He pointed at Naruto. “You first, blondie.”
Naruto shot him a glare before continuing.
“Well my name is Uzumaki Naruto, I love ramen. I love every type of ramen, beef ramen, shrimp ramen, fish ramen, and pork ramen. I hate the three-minutes you have to wait for ramen to cook. My dream in life is become the future Hokage and surpass all previous Hokage’s so people will acknowledge me!”
Kakashi showed no reaction, but inside he was impressed at how he grew up. He looked at Sasuke.
“The brooding one. You next.”
“My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don’t like much, and I dislike a lot. My dream…no, more like my ambition…is to kill a certain man, and resurrect my clan.”
Naruto and Kouseki both froze at these words, for different reasons.
Does he mean me? Naruto thought nervously.
I didn’t expect him to become so dark this quickly… Kouseki sighed inwardly, not really looking forward to putting up with the boy.
Kakashi and Akina didn’t expect anything else.
“And…the young lady.”
“Takamaru Akina. Training and Kouseki (here, she gestured towards the wolf who grinned, showing her inch-long fangs). People who judge without reason. None.”
Kakashi sweat dropped at the lack of response. Naruto and Sasuke were quite the opposite. They hadn’t heard Akina talk so much in months. It was amazing, but she actually talked less than Shino.
“Well, you’re an interesting group…”
Great. I’m stuck with a blind girl who barely talks, a sadistic looking wolf that looks like she likes pain, a brooding Uchiha that wants to kill his brother, and a ramen-loving, hyperactive, blondie. Just…great…
“Meet tomorrow at training area 7 at 7 am for our first mission.”
Naruto jumped up and began frantically guessing what they were going to do. He was stopped by a raised hand from Kakashi.
“This is a mission between the four of us…survival training.”
Both Naruto and Sasuke snorted, thinking nothing of it. Kakashi just smiled again and started laughing like a maniac. Four pairs of eyes stared at him.
“What? Why are you laughing?” asked Naruto cautiously.
The jounin stopped laughing long enough to speak. “You’re not gonna like it if I tell you…”
“What? What is it?”
“Out of the 27 graduates, only 9 will be accepted as genin. The graduation test was just to weed out the weak. This is the true test.”
“66% fail rate,” murmured the small brunette. The boys stiffened.
“I suggest you don’t eat anything tomorrow…”
“…or you’ll throw up.”
With that, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. All three got up to leave. Sasuke was about to turn away to leave when Akina spoke up again.
“Eat breakfast, you need the energy.”
He paused, before walking off again. Naruto, Akina, and Kouseki walked together, since Akina was an orphan and lived in the same apartment building.
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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 5:28 pm
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Wow, I didn't realize that posting the "female dog" word would make it censor out. I gotta watch out for that...oops.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
:;Seeing the Truth;:
Chapter 2: Tests and Suspicions
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
The next morning at 6:30 am, Naruto joined Akina and Kouseki in walking towards the three tree stumps. Naruto looked like death walking on two feet. It was painfully obvious that he wasn’t used to waking up so early.
Kouseki and Akina have been waking with the sun for the past 5 years, so it wasn’t anything new. Both females made sure that Naruto didn’t run into anything by accident.
When they arrived, Sasuke was already there, leaning back on a tree. He nodded at Akina who nodded back and proceeded to ignore Naruto, who for once didn’t mind.
4 hours later, Kakashi arrived to find Kouseki napping, a pissed Naruto, an agitated Sasuke, and a frowning Akina (he was now smiling inside now that he had accomplished in seeing a facial expression on her).
“YOU’RE LATE!” shouted Naruto. Their sensei eye-smiled.
“Sorry, sorry. I got lost on the road of life.”
He brought out a timer and set it on the middle stump.
“This is set to noon.” He took out 2 bells. “By then, you will have to get one bell each in order to pass and get lunch.”
Here, Naruto and Sasuke’s stomachs growled, making them regret not listening to their team mate’s advice.
“Or else you’ll get tied to the stump.”
Naruto, Sasuke, and Kouseki narrowed their eyes (Kouseki’s looked more intimidating) after seeing only 2 bells. Kakashi seemed to notice.
“One of you will fail for sure.” Akina shrugged the threat off. She only felt like passing this year because Kiba was in this year.
“Come at me with killing intent if you want a bell.”
“B-But you’ll get hurt, Kakashi-sensei!” stuttered out Naruto. Surely, a person who couldn’t dodge an eraser couldn’t dodge kunai and shuriken?
“All talk no action.”
Growling, Naruto pulled out a kunai and charged. In the blink of an eye, Kakashi restrained Naruto and held his own kunai to the back of his head.
“Hold on, I didn't say “Go” yet...”
Sasuke smirked. So he really is a jounin...
Kouseki and Akina got ready to make a plan.
“So you're starting to respect me...I'm starting to like you guys.”
He let go of Naruto.
“Ready, GO!”
All four took off into the surrounding forest.
Sasuke watched from a tree as Naruto was about to jump out and attack Kakashi. A hand grabbed him and he disappeared into the shadows with a muffled yelp.
In another tree, Akina was covering Naruto's mouth. After he calmed down, she sighed.
“Why did you stop me? I would've creamed him!”
“Foolish move...genin won't win against jounin without team work.”
“But what about the bells?”
“Trick.”
While Naruto thought about what Akina said, she got out a scroll and scrawled a message inside it. Kouseki emerged from the shadows and took it from her after she was done writing (you need practice to write while being blind). She disappeared.
“Okay. Team work.”
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-
“No.”
Kouseki seemed to sigh. She had been given the task of delivering the message to Sasuke, explaining again what the test was about. Cocky little...
She growled in frustration and nudged the scroll again, urging him to understand it. He shook his head.
“Tell her no.”
At least this way...I'll get to see what that girl is capable of...
Sighing again, she left silently.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Akina frowned when Kouseki came back and told them no. Naruto had seen the wolf shake her head, so how did the girl see it if she was blind? I'll ask her later...
“Sasuke will not team up. You're distraction. I will grab the bells.”
“Okay Akina-chan!”
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Naruto jumped out from the bush. “You and me! Right here, right now!”
Kakashi sweat dropped. “You know...compared to the others...you're kinda weird.”
Up in the trees, Akina was hidden and currently meditating. Become one with nature... The wind started to swirl around her protectively as she “became the air”. She tilted her head from side to side to hear and feel the wind parting around Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Kouseki, and the entire forest.
This was her special ability, and was also the reason why she was feared, and can communicate with the wolf.
Down below, Naruto had just temporarily disabled Kakashi, holding him still for another Kage Bunshin to punch him. Akina focused on the area around the battle.
As Kakashi switched with another clone and hid, she used that little opening and cut the strings of the bells with wind, since he had appeared below her. Unfortunately, he noticed the loss of the weight on his waist, and hastily grabbed them and disappeared.
The Naruto clones continued to beat each other up (one was not, as he had seen the strings cut themselves and was gaping; it had the same effect on Sasuke, though to a lesser degree).
Akina whispered the word “Dispel.” into the wind, making it seem like it was coming from everywhere before moving positions.
Naruto caught the word and did so, revealing that he was by himself.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Akina reappeared in a tree nearer to Sasuke, still connected to the wind. She cut the rope to the trap surrounding the “fallen bell” so that Naruto could pick it up. Kouseki appeared behind her and nudged her.
Kakashi had managed to take the bell before Naruto, now pondering the mysterious cuts on his strings and ropes. He lectured Naruto on traps before disappearing.
The girl tensed and ran to change positions. Then, she stopped, and turned around to face Kakashi, who had followed her.
“Why did you stop? Give up?”
She shook her head. “Can't outrun a jounin.” There was no error in something that logical, he supposed.
He put away his book.
Akina got into a fighting stance, with her left foot slightly extended, and her body turned to the side. Her arms at her sides were relaxed.
The jounin raised a delicate silver brow. A blind girl fighting in taijutsu?
They stood waiting there, facing each other. Kouseki watched in the shadows, since she knew where Sasuke was (in a tree watching) and where Naruto was (tied to a pole for trying to steal a lunch).
Kakashi shrugged before making the first move.
He charged, aiming a punch for her head. She tilted her head to the right at the last minute and flipped him over her. She chucked a few shuriken at him before following. Kakashi did some mid-air acrobats and landed, blocking the chakra powered palm thrust with he left arm.
His arm started hurting like hell. Narrowing his eye, he dodged the second thrust before kicking Akina up into the air. He mentally examined his wound and found that her attack was a little like Tsunade's and the Jyuuken combined. It attacked the nerves, muscles, bones, and chakra ways.
Up in the air, Akina made 3 hand seals, ending in Tora. Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu (Fire style: Grand Fireball). She breathed in and released the fire ball, aiming it directly towards the clearing she just “left”.
Sasuke's eyes widened as he watched Kakashi use kawarimi to avoid being burned to a crisp. The fireball was the same size as his.
Kouseki had appeared beside him in the tree again (he idly wondered how she got up in the first place) and nudged his arm, trying to get him to team up. He waved her off, wanting to watch more and solve the puzzle that was Akina.
Kouseki glared before jumping down to distract Kakashi from Akina. She howled and lunged for his chest area, jaws open.
He dodged and kicked Kouseki away. This girl...she's holding back...she doesn't look remotely tired, even after pulling off a move that was above the genin level...
Kouseki, standing back on her paws, growled before fleeing, making Kakashi realize that Akina was no longer with him.
Sasuke saw an opening and let loose a barrage of shuriken before moving positions. Kakashi skillfully dodged them all, until he heard another set of the spinning weapons coming towards his head.
A trap…!
He jumped backwards, right when Sasuke reappeared and aimed a punch for his head. He caught it, and used his other hand to catch Sasuke’s second punch. While still in midair, the prodigy twisted himself and tried to kick Kakashi’s head, which was blocked by a hand after letting go of a fist.
Sasuke smirked inwardly and reached out to grab a bell while Kakashi was busy holding his arm and leg, but the elite ninja noticed and leaned out of the way right when the tips of his fingers touched the bells. He threw Sasuke back and disappeared from view.
The young Uchiha cautiously scanned his surroundings. Up? Down? Left? Right?
A pair of hands burst out from underneath him, only to grasp air after a black blur pushed Sasuke out of the way.
The two genin skidded to a halt on the other side of the clearing.
Sasuke looked up after recovering from his fall to see a hand offered to pull him up from none other than Akina.
A mutual understanding was finally formed between them when Sasuke took the hand and got up.
They both got into their respective fighting stances, side by side, getting Kakashi’s interest as he stared at them.
As one, they leapt forward, Sasuke trying to trip Kakashi by aiming at his legs, while Akina used her smaller form to attack Kakashi’s upper body.
Inwardly, Kakashi was impressed. This was makeshift teamwork at best, but it served it purpose for now.
Sasuke saw Kakashi distracted and kicked the back of his legs, moving to restrain their sensei. Akina noticed the sudden shift in positions and reached for the bells.
He struggled, but found another body keeping him from moving. Something orange caught his attention in the corner of his eye.
Naruto…! How did he get out?
A jingle brought his attention back towards Akina, who had dangled them in front of his face, right when the timer rang in the distance.
Kakashi smiled again.
“Meet at the stumps.”
He used shunshin to reappear at their meeting place, leaving the genin to walk.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
The genin sat in front of Kakashi, who was eyeing them all carefully. He let his gaze linger on Akina a little longer.
I’d better keep an eye on her and talk to Hokage-sama…
“All right, Akina. You have the bells. Who’s gonna have them?”
Noiselessly, she threw a bell towards Sasuke and put the other bell in Naruto’s hands. Both looked slightly confused.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “Why?” Akina shrugged. “Their dreams.”
“Okay then! To the stump!” He took out a roll of rope and moved towards Akina, tying her to the middle post.
“Now…on to the test’s results…”
Naruto scowled.
“You all fail.”
“WHAT! WHY!”
“Because you didn’t find out the true meaning behind this test! Did you have any idea why we put you on three-man teams?”
The boys frowned as they recalled what Akina had told them.
“That’s right! Teamwork! Although you did show cooperation with Akina-chan here, you did not all work as a team!”
He managed to cool his temper down.
“I’ll give you all one last chance.”
He threw 2 bentos towards Naruto and Sasuke. “You two get lunch since you have bells. Don’t give any to Akina, since she doesn’t have a bell. Remember…my word is law.”
He disappeared, just as Kouseki padded into the clearing with a newly caught fish in her jaws, courtesy of the river under the red bridge. She stopped in front of the kids, looking at them all and taking in the situation. She lay down in front of them and started to eat. The boys followed her example, though Naruto did so hesitatingly.
After about 5 minutes of nervous eating, Naruto finally growled in frustration. He clenched his chopsticks, then offered some food towards Akina.
“Here! I can’t eat in front of you like this.”
Sasuke looked up from his lunch, and did the same, though he was looking away. Akina tilted her head in confusion. Kouseki stopped eating to watch with interest at how well Akina was acting.
“You can have my food, too. I can’t sense Kakashi anywhere and we don’t need you slowing us down from hunger.”
Akina gave them both a soft smile (Naruto’s jaw dropped slightly, since he’s never seen her smile before, even around Kiba) and took a bite of food.
Suddenly, dark clouds appeared over their heads and thunder clashed. In a poof of smoke, Kakashi appeared, looking enraged and leaking out a little killer intent.
“YOU…!”
Sasuke, Naruto, and Kouseki all tensed, ready for battle.
“…pass.”
Naruto fell back on his a** in surprise. “Why…?”
“You are the first team to show team work. All the other teams I received were mindless drones that only followed my orders and went against each other.”
The jinchuuriki pointed at the nearby monument. “Hey Kakashi-sensei, what’s that?”
Kakashi walked towards a large obsidian stone jutting out of the earth like the tip of a kunai. He stared at the stone.
“This stone is dedicated to the heroes of Konoha.”
Naruto jumped up and pointed excitedly at it. “THAT’S IT! I wanna be on that!”
“…they’re all K.I.A.”
“That sounds cool!”
Akina frowned a little. “K.illed I.n A.ction.”
The mood immediately sobered, and Naruto sat back down, saddened.
Kakashi traced a few names on the stone. “This memorial is dedicated to the men and women who died to protect this village…my best friends’ names are carved on here.”
He about-faced and looked sternly at his new team. “Those who don’t follow the rules are trash…but those who don’t protect their comrades are worse than trash.”
Naruto’s eyes filled with admiration. “That…that was kinda cool…”
Kakashi smiled. “Okay! Tomorrow we’ll meet up here and go to receive our first mission as Team 7! Congratulations!” He gave them all a thumbs up.
Naruto grinned in triumph. One step closer to being Hokage! Akina wriggled a little, cutting the ropes that bound her with a small burst of chakra used to burn it. Sasuke even let out a small smirk.
As a group, they all walked towards the village, towards a new life as an official team.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 6:39 am
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 1:34 pm
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 5:26 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 5:06 pm
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Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 6:30 pm
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“Talking”
Thinking
(“Other life forms communicating with characters that can understand them”) – Example: Kiba and Akamaru. Akina and Kouseki.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
:;Seeing the Truth;:
Chapter 3: True Potential
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
“Did you need me Hokage-sama?”
Akina and Kouseki stood in the Sandaime Hokage’s office after many long and dull D-rank missions. Sarutobi had called her in for a small meeting after capturing the runaway cat, Tora, for the 9th time that week.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and pondered over how he should put the purpose for this meaning into words.
“First, I want to congratulate you on graduating the Academy…though, you could have done that sooner…”
Akina shrugged indifferently, they’d gone over her lack of motivation before. It wasn’t new.
“And so, as your commander, I want to evaluate your skills as a ninja.”
Kouseki and Akina stayed silent, now knowing why he called her here. Since Akina was a ninja of Konoha now, and not a citizen, she was obligated to listen to her commander, the Hokage. She gave a curt nod.
“Me and several other high-ranking ninja will be reviewing your skills. Meet us in training area 1 tomorrow at 1 pm.”
Akina saluted to Sarutobi. “Hai, Hokage-sama.”
With that, she turned and left. When the door closed, Kakashi melted from the shadows of the room, looking at the place where Akina had just stood.
“Hokage-sama, how strong do you think she is? She’s clearly not genin level…”
Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his temples. “Honestly? I don’t know, Kakashi. She’s never shown her true strength. She’s been able to hold her own against rookie jounin level ninja that were after her life, though, until Anbu came to restrain them…”
“Hmm…”
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
“Training's over, team. You get tomorrow's day off...”
Sasuke and Naruto were on the ground, laying down and panting after having a spar with Kakashi to improve their team work. Since they were rivals (and took every chance they could to argue) this didn't work too well, and they got beaten, to say the least; especially since they had the strongest jounin in the village as a sensei.
Akina was sitting in a nearby tree, having practicing her tracking skills with Kouseki. The two boys thought she needed to improve on tracking since she was blind, but Akina knew otherwise.
Kakashi wanted to give her a break until her “test” with the higher-ups (which included Kakashi), and Akina gladly took that opportunity.
Getting up, she motioned towards the shadows of the trees for Kouseki to come out before walking towards another training area. A yell interrupted her, and Naruto ran up from behind her, having gotten all of his energy back (Sasuke had gotten up, though more slowly).
“Oi, Akina-chan, where ya going?”
Akina inwardly grimaced. She hadn't prepared for questions from her team mates.
Suddenly, a hand descended upon her shoulder.
Kakashi smiled towards his students. “She's coming with me. I wanted to show her something that'll help with her little...er, disability.”
Naruto frowned, then nodded, grudgingly accepting it. He brightened up, however, at one of his thoughts.
“OKAY! Akina-chan, can I come over tonight for dinner? I'm a little out of cash after...well, yesterday.”
Kouseki nodded sagely as she remembered the day before. (“Ah, yes, Naruto truly is an endless stomach...where does he put it all?”)
Akina nodded, to both of them. Naruto grinned brightly and half-hugged Akina from the side.
“THANKYUU!”
He let go and ran towards home, smiling all the way. Kakashi watched and made sure that both male genin were gone before speaking to Akina, his hand still on her shoulder.
“I'll take you to your little “test”.”
Kouseki put her paw on Kakashi's foot, looking like she was scowling. (“Yo, scarecrow, what about me?”)
He looked down and seemed to get the message, since he had raised dogs as a kid and had to have at least some understanding of their body language.
“And Kouseki, too.” She grinned. (“Good scarecrow.”)
The jounin made the hand seals for Shunshin no Jutsu, making them all disappear in a burst of ninja smoke, reappearing in front of the people that were to evaluate the girl.
They were: the Hokage himself (of course), Kakashi (he went to stand by Sarutobi), an Anbu (it looked like he was the Anbu Commander, since his cloak was a beige color, signifying at least Captain rank, and he was the only Anbu here), and the two council elders: Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
The Sandaime smiled at Akina and Kouseki. “It's nice of you to join us here, Akina-chan, and getting Kakashi to get here on time, too.”
Said ninja scratched the back of his neck sheepishly at the mention of his bad habit.
Sarutobi's former team mates looked at Akina with calculating eyes. This was the girl that he wanted to be put into the Anbu Training Center? The blind nature girl?
Koharu cleared her throat, signaling the start of the test. “Takamaru Akina, first we must see how much chakra control you have. We will start with simple tree-climbing to water-walking.”
Akina nodded.
“Try your hardest and begin.”
Kouseki padded to sit next to Sarutobi, since she wasn't needed for this part. She eyed the Anbu Commander. If he was here then they wanted her to join Anbu. And since all of these people were the highest ranking people in the village, Akina had no choice but to show her full potential, since they can spot when she's holding back.
Akina calmly walked up a nearby tree as if it was nothing to her. When she neared the top, she back-flipped off of the trunk, and onto the lake, where she landed as if the water was really earth. The girl walked back towards the small group of ninja to see the Hokage smirking a little triumphantly.
He'd finally get to see what Akina was truly made of.
The Anbu Commander nodded in satisfaction, then stepped in front of the much smaller girl. “Next we must test your taijutsu skill. Refrain from using genjutsu, ninjutsu, or weapons.”
She took the previous stance that she used against Kakashi in the spar, but this time she would not hold back. Her sensei made sure to pay attention to how she fought this time. This was a pretty general fighting stance, as it could be used for both defense and defense for many fighting styles.
The Hokage looked at both ninja, seeing them ready for their little spar. “Ready? Hajime!”
Akina stayed still and waited for the commander to make the first move, since she was the one being tested. She might as well be tested on her defense first. He seemed to get the message and charged forward. Kakashi had an odd sense of deja vu, except from a different point of view.
A well-aimed punch came at her stomach. Akina turned to the side last minute and kneed his stomach before flipping him and moving a distance back, going back into her stance.
The Anbu got up and nodded. He wasn't going full out anyways; he wasn't allowed to. He was actually surprised that someone that was blind could do this well in taijutsu. However, that was just genin-level taijutsu. How would she do with chuunin-level?
He disappeared with a blur of speed. Akina made no move and instead listened to the wind and earth, relaxed. She suddenly jumped to the right, dodging an axe kick made by the Anbu. She landed and rebounded back.
They met in the middle and exchanged a few kicks and punches, all of which were blocked or parried by the other. Eventually they both backed off.
Kakashi observed with a critical eye. She seemed to have at least chuunin-level taijutsu, but that was expected since he had experienced her fighting first-hand. Jounin-level was next.
This time, both combatants blurred out of existence, meeting in midair high above the clearing. Chakra circulated throughout Akina's body as she sent multiple palm thrusts towards the various pressure points around the older ninja's body.
He blocked the first palm thrust and instantly regretted it as pain ran throughout his body, pushing away all the other attacks as a result. His right arm was starting to go numb.
This fighting style was not meant to be blocked.
The commander kicked Akina away before landing and distancing himself. Akina, who had blocked the hit, did the same.
“That's enough.”
Both ninja looked at their Hokage, who was smiling. They nodded and walked towards the group.
When they got there, Akina was greeted with unblinking gazes from both council members. She couldn't see it, but she could feel it. She pushed the nervousness she got away and faced the Hokage, who seemed to be emitting a pleased aura.
“Next, you must place your best genjutsu, if you have any, on Kakashi, who can break through it with his Sharingan if it gets to that point,” announced Homura.
Afore mentioned ninja stepped a little away from the others and each other. Akina sifted through her slightly smaller knowledge of genjutsu (well, smaller than her genjutsu and ninjutsu know-how) and finally decided which was her strongest.
She then did something that no one expected.
Akina pushed up her headband, revealing a pretty face, with her eyes closed.
With a speed that once again surprised all those present (some of them hid it better then others), she made about 20 hand seals in a couple seconds, holding the last one, the Ram.
“Magen: Rosuto Mikomi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Lost Hope).”
She opened her eyes, revealing a dull forest green pigment. Her sensei's attention went to her eyes, as he's never seen them before.
A big mistake, since the illusion was activated with eye contact.
Suddenly, just as the name suggests, Kakashi's will to live started to dwindle. This...this genjutsu...very effective...it makes me want to kill myself, just to make it stop...my friends...my comrades...they are all dead...what's the use living if I can't be with them? Sensei...Obito...Rin... ... ...father. He eyed his kunai pouch, as if longing to use it.
The other ninja looked on with interest at the desperate look in Kakashi's eye. This genjutsu seemed to be very effective. If she can use this long-distance, then she can make the enemies kill themselves without ever getting into danger. The only flaw was that she'll never know if they were looking at her eyes or not, seeing as she was blind.
They sensed chakra being used, but only because they can sense chakra even if it was being concealed with Anbu-leveled skill. When Kakashi put his hand on his kunai pouch, they knew it had to stop. Kouseki, having watched, was interested in seeing her fight without any limits again.
“Akina.”
She didn't need to be told what to do. She lowered her hands and released Kakashi from the illusion. He blinked before realizing what had happened. He looked at Akina to see that she had covered her eyes again.
Walking back to the crowd, he pondered over her jutsu. It didn't use as much chakra as he thought, for such a strong illusion. It wasn't just simple mind-manipulation. He realized with a start that it made him re-live and think deeply about the worst moments in his life, and added her own emotions of despair into it. She had transferred her own feeling of hopelessness into his mind.
In other words, the more sad or hard the user and victim's lives were (plus their grief and despair over it), the more powerful the illusion.
The Hokage smiled at Akina, who didn't look at all winded, as she hadn't used too much energy or chakra so far.
“Okay Akina, now we need you to use your most powerful ninjutsu, then we're done here.”
Akina inwardly smirked. Believe it or not, her favorite ninja field was ninjutsu, even if she seemed best at taijutsu.
She walked toward the middle of the large clearing, leaving her group of testers at the edge. Kouseki grinned at the thought of seeing her ninjutsu again.
The young blind girl reached the middle and cleared her mind, relaxing her tense body. She checked over her chakra and circulated it throughout her body. She breathed in and out.
A few seconds after, she started to breath out fire as she exhaled. No hand seals had been made. The chakra in her body converted to fire and started to twist around her small body like a tornado. She made a fist. The fire (the color looked far too much like blood to be real fire) started to twist around it, taking the distinct shape of a dragon.
She cocked back her fist and punched, shooting the dragon. As it flew, it got bigger and bigger until it was about half the size of Gamabunta, the toad boss. It passed by numerous trees, instantly turning them into ash. When it finally reached it's target, a nearby mountain, it hit, causing a massive explosion that must have reached clear across Konoha and completely obliterated the pile of rock.
By now Akina was panting slightly. “Kazan no Ryuuki (Volcano Dragon Spirit).”
The utter destruction of that move had alerted many of the Anbu in the area, as they appeared behind their leader, cautiously looking around for danger. He shook his head and signaled them to leave, which they did, though reluctantly. The chakra still lingered in the air (they had traced it to the little girl in the field and nearly choked), reminding them of what just happened.
“I think that's enough for today...we will have your results tomorrow tonight. I will send someone to get you.”
With that, all of them but Kakashi and Kouseki poofed away in various bursts smoke. Kakashi stayed because he wanted to talk to his student, and Kouseki because she wouldn't have left her pup, and even if she did, she didn't have hands to make hand signs to use Shunshin no jutsu anyways.
Akina soon recovered after a few more seconds, composed herself, and calmly walked over to her sensei and partner.
“That was...amazing, Akina. How come you didn't fight like this before?”
Akina shrugged. Kouseki was grinning, already knowing her answer, which was quickly becoming known as her trademark phrase.
“I didn't feel like it.”
Kakashi sweat dropped and sighed in exasperation. Why can't she be a little more like Naruto...? A sudden image of Akina jumping around and begging Kakashi to teach her cool jutsu came to mind. Scratch that thought...nevermind.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
“AKINA-CHAN!”
She looked towards her right to see Naruto just exiting his door (which was right across from hers). Kouseki whined playfully at the orange-clad genin.
(“What about me? No hello?”)
He blinked and looked down (not too far though, since Kouseki was large for a wolf), and noticed her. “Oh, and Kouseki-chan, too, I guess.” She barked happily, causing him to grin again.
“So what's for dinner?”
Akina unlocked her door and held it open for her team mate, not bothering to respond. He took it as a “you'll see” and walked inside, plopping himself on the beige couch, while Akina went with Kouseki into the kitchen to go cook them all dinner.
He looked on the coffee table in front of him to find a fox kit and a wolf pup playing checkers and promptly sweat dropped. That was an odd sight, but it wasn't too uncommon in Akina's apartment. There was a reason she was nicknamed the “Nature Girl” at the Academy. She always had all these animals around her.
He watched as the kit started to lose (you could tell it was unhappy because it was snarling and glaring at the board). He grinned when it tricked the wolf pup into looking away so that it can change the board.
Naruto tried to muffle his snickers when the pup looked back to see everything messed up. It glared at the kit, who was pointedly looking away like it hadn't been doing anything, and changed everything back. The red-furred kit gaped in horror and then proceeded to pounce on the gray pup, knocking it onto the floor.
Before the fight can escalate (in the background, Naruto can be heard yelling “Fight! Fight! Fight!”), the smell of what Akina was cooking reached their sensitive noses. They all realized how hungry they were and forgot all about the scuffle, making a dash towards the kitchen/dining room.
On the table was a feast (a very hard thing to make when you were as poor as these two orphans were) of fried rice, ramen, honey-roasted ham, and mashed potatoes with gravy.
The guests (a hungry Naruto, fox kit, and wolf pup) and the hosts (a slightly annoyed Kouseki and a calm Akina) sat at the table (the pup and kit sat on the table, since they were so small), and clapped their hands (or paws) together in thanks for this meal.
“Itadakimasu!” (“Itadakimasu!”)
With that, all 5 of them dug in, at their own paces (Naruto had immediately grabbed all the ramen, while the fox and wolves reached for the ham). Luckily, Akina had foreseen this, and made more of those foods instead, while the plates of fried rice and mashed potatoes were for herself (though in all respect, these were big, too, since Akina seemed to need just as much food as Naruto for some strange reason).
The jinchuuriki had noodles handing out of his mouth when he popped her a question.
“Hoy Akima-cham. Here hih u het ahh this foo?”
Kouseki glared at Naruto. (“Don't talk with your mouth full, boy.”)
The two animal kids snickered behind their paws. (“Busted!”) they chorused. He quickly swallowed and repeated his questions.
“Oi, Akina-chan. Where did you get all this food?”
“She keeps a garden in the forest that the animals help take care of,” said a voice from behind Naruto.
Naruto and Kouseki turned to look at the new arrivals: Kiba and Akamaru.
“Ohayo Kiba; Akamaru.”
The dog boy grinned and hugged Akina before taking a seat. “Hey you guys!”
Naruto waved at Kiba before digging into his ramen again. Since Kiba was kind of like Akina's big brother, he also had a key to her apartment so that he can come over whenever he wanted.
As the meal went on, Naruto and Kiba argued and bantered over several different topics (which included who was stronger right now), eventually leading to a brawl, which the rest of those eating didn't bother to break up.
This was how dinner was usually like at Akina's apartment.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Far away in the Hokage's tower, the Sandaime and Kakashi were both thoroughly amused at the dinner table scene. They had used the crystal ball to check in on how Akina was doing, but didn't expect to see animals at the table, Kiba and Naruto arm wrestling, and Akina doing nothing to stop it.
“We'll send for her after her guests are gone.”
Kakashi agreed.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
(“I think that meal went pretty well.”) commented the wolf as she stacked up the dirty plates with her mouth.
Akina just nodded and continued to wash the dishes.
Kiba and Naruto had left a while ago, claiming to need sleep for extra training tomorrow. The fox kit and wolf pup were on the couch sleeping. They'd gotten permission from their respective families to sleep over at Akina's “den”.
A knock came at the door. Kouseki sniffed at the air and smelled chuunin-leveled chakra. She padded towards the front door and opened it, since it had a piece of cloth tied to it to allow animals to open it as well. In front of the door was one of the Hokage's chuunin assistants.
He blinked when a very large wolf answered the door. “Um, is Takamaru Akina here?”
Kouseki scoffed, then nodded. Akina was well known for having her as a partner. He must not pay attention to gossip. (“What the hell do you think, ningen.”)
“She's needed at Hokage-sama's office ASAP.” With that he turned and shunshined away.
Kouseki sat and waited for Akina to come, since she was sure that she heard the entire conversation. She came and they both walked outside, locking the door. Kouseki put a paw on Akina's foot as she formed the seals for the Shunshin.
Shunshin no jutsu.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
They both arrived right inside Sarutobi's office to see the Anbu Commander, Kakashi, and the Hokage himself there. All those present were, by now, not surprised by Akina's level of skill when she appeared using the universal transportation jutsu. Kakashi greeted her with a smile, and Sarutobi a nod.
Both the girl and the wolf bowed in greeting.
“Takamaru Akina. From the results of the test that you went through today, we have concluded that you are around rookie jounin level and are to go to the Anbu Training Center part time until you become a chuunin. At chuunin rank, you will be assigned to an Anbu team and go to the next Jounin Exam,” announced the Commander.
He stepped forward and gave her a bag with the standard Anbu uniform and a blank Anbu mask with the number “55” in blue on her right cheek.
Kakashi smiled again. “Training for my genin team will be on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Missions will be on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. You will be going to the Training center every day that we have missions, plus Sunday. Is that clear?”
“Hai, Kakashi-sensei.”
The Anbu nodded, satisfied with the new member, and left. The Hokage cleared his throat.
“Akina-chan. Kouseki will naturally not be going to the Training Center with you since that will give away your identity. Is there any animal that can come to help you?”
Kouseki tilted her head as she thought of all the animal clans in the more wilder parts of Konoha that could help her pup with identifying colors.
She immediately ruled out the squirrels. The purpose of being an Anbu is to protect the village from the shadows. She didn't need a little rodent's chattering risking Akina's life.
And the snakes, as much as the help was appreciated, would attract too much attention, since the famous traitor Sannin Orochimaru was a snake user. Anko was the only other known snake user in Konoha, and judging from the type of attention she has from the ninja and civilian populace, it wasn't a good idea.
Dogs and wolves would be a no. They would think she was an Inuzuka, and when they ask around and find out she wasn't, then they will immediately know that it was Akina.
Kouseki sighed as the list of animal clans went down to birds and cats (fox were a big, big, big no-no, even if they were really friendly with Akina). Takamaru meant “hawk-dog” in Japanese, so if she brought a bird she would be found out.
The vixen looked up at Akina and saw that she had made the same conclusion.
“A cat.” (“A cat.”)
Sarutobi nodded. “That's a good idea. There is a clan of cat users in Suna, so you can pose as a girl that was banned and left here in Konoha. When you get into an Anbu team, you are required to reveal your identity, so it won't be a problem. Just choose your new “partner” wisely.”
Both nodded and turned to leave.
“Just hold on a minute Akina-chan,” called out Kakashi. She stopped and turned her head to let him know she was listening.
“I'd just like to say congratulations, and that I'll be making your excuses.” He smiled from beneath his mask when he saw Kouseki grimace. She nodded and they both left using Shunshin.
Kakashi turned towards his superior. “Well I think that's enough excitement for one day. I'm turning in. Good night, Hokage-sama.”
He nodded, and when Kakashi left, he looked back into the crystal ball to find Akina and Kouseki deep in the forest outside of the village (though it was barely inside the village borders).
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
(“Of course we'll help!”)
Akina and Kouseki had just finished explaining their situation to the clan of mountain lions that lived somewhere behind the Hokage monument. The animals around Konoha were so friendly with the animals because 1) she can communicate with them and 2) she helped them whenever they needed it. She'd babysit or help out when humans come into the picture.
A young cub bounded out of the cave and rubbed her head against Akina's legs. She bent down and scratched behind her ears. The kitten growled happily.
Sitting in front of her den was her mother, and the mate of the current head of Konoha's mountain lion clan.
("This is my second oldest daughter, Kyoukoumune (or Kyou for short). She is the most responsible of my litter and can take care of herself, though I trust you to watch over her...?")
“Hai.”
The mother nodded, satisfied, and turned towards her little cub (who was about the same size as Akamaru). (“You be good with Akina-chan, okay kit? You'll be coming home half of the week, so don't worry.”)
(“Hai, okaa-sama!”)
Kouseki, Akina, and Kyoukoumune bowed, then left by Shunshin.
(“Be safe...”)
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Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 4:07 pm
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Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 6:17 am
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Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 5:42 pm
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Posted: Mon Dec 18, 2006 6:27 pm
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Posted: Thu Dec 21, 2006 6:39 pm
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O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
:;Seeing the Truth;:
Chapter 4: Secrets Revealed
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
The sound of metal clashing with metal echoed throughout the clearing as the genin continued their three-way spar. All had multiple cuts (courtesy of Kouseki and Akina), burns (Sasuke), and bruises (Naruto and his kage Bunshins).
Kakashi was happily reading his Icha Icha Paradise book on a nearby log. He wasn’t really needed in this training exercise and was fully intending to use that fact to his advantage. Besides, he trusted Akina to keep the sparring under control and not let the two rivals kill each other.
Every once in a while, temporary teams between two genin would form during the spar. But it was always with Akina.
Silently, Kakashi debated on how he should correct this problem after it got stuck in his head. Friendly rivalry was good for improvement in skills, but sometimes it went too far…Wait! He had an idea! He chuckled darkly at the expressions he would see on his team’s faces when he showed them.
A grunt from Sasuke told him that the plan that Akina and Naruto had formed to beat him had worked.
Snapping his book shut, he got up and walked over leisurely.
“Saa…that’s enough training for today. Missions are tomorrow until 12. Don’t be late!”
Before Naruto could yell at him to “take his own advice”, the jounin had disappeared. After a few seconds, growling was heard in the distance. Sasuke looked in that direction with detached interest. Naruto was cocking his head and he squinted his eyes in that direction.
Out of the rustling bushes came a bear cub, bounding its way over to Akina, who had kneeled down to receive it. In the distance was an extremely large brown bear, looking at them with watchful eyes. The Takamaru got up and bowed to her before picking the cub up and cuddling it.
Kouseki trotted into the forest after watching the exchange. Akina readjusted her grip on the baby before nodding towards her team mates.
“I’m baby-sitting Kuma-chan in the deep forest today.”
With that, she went in the direction Kouseki went. Naruto shrugged at this before turning to bug Sasuke, who immediately scowled and trudged off towards the village.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
(“Did I do good, Akina-neechan?”?)
“Hai, Kuma-chan.”
The three were walking towards the back of the Hokage Mountain, where many animal clans resided. There was a meeting between them today, and Akina was to attend.
Kouseki smiled and rubbed the cub’s nape affectionately with her snout as a reward for giving them an excuse to get out of there. The small bear giggled before chasing after a butterfly that happened to be going the same way as them.
“Kouseki.”
The wolf “hmm”ed absentmindedly as she watched the young kuma tramp around the path they were walking. All around them, the animals were gossiping about the Konoha-wide animal council meeting that was to take place.
“Why do you think they called me?”
(“Dunno.”)
The lie came easily to her, though it did make her feel uncomfortable afterwards; lying to someone wolves considered a pack member was against their code unless it was extremely important.
And this was important.
All the animals in Konoha that had been around when Kyuubi attacked could sense that he was still alive. They in turn passed that knowledge to the second generation, until Sarutobi had passed the law forbidding this information to the younger generation. The council elders agreed with the ningen, and did the same.
Kouseki was only a pup when she was told, right before it was forbidden.
The animals weren’t stupid; they can hear how badly they talked about Naruto. Thankfully, only some adults were brave enough to get near enough the ningen to hear this, so the secret didn’t spread.
(“ ‘Tou-san!”) the cub bounded up towards its father, who was waiting near the entrance to a hidden cave.
The larger bear (even standing up, Akina was still shorter than the bear when he was on all-fours) nuzzled his cub before nudging it towards a female bear, who looked to be his care-taker for now. The young one got the idea and ran over.
He turned back towards Akina (who bowed in greeting to the Kuma Clan Head) and nodded, walking with the girl and Kouseki into the cave, which turned out to go downwards. It started to get darker and darker as they went down, but it didn’t bother them at all, since all three of them didn’t need to rely on sight to get where the wanted to be.
Suddenly they exited the tunnel into a large chamber that looked like an underground forest. Roots from the large Konoha snaked its way downwards along the walls, but it still looked secure here. It had to be, since it was used as an emergency shelter for the animals (and the occasional shinobi who got lost and came here), and for Konoha’s Animal Council meetings.
A large tree grew from the exact middle of this forest, and that was where they were heading. They arrived to see at least one of every kind of Konoha’s animals here, sitting on and around the tree’s branches or roots.
All chattering stopped when Kuma’s Head sat down in his spot in the semi circle. They all faced Akina, who sat down in the traditional position with her feet tucked beneath her and bowed to everyone. Kouseki did the same.
A large panther from the Panther Clan in the Forest of Death cleared her throat, gathering the attention on her.
(“We have called a meeting on this fine autumn day to discuss young Akina’s new situation, and to reveal some more important that we should have told her long ago.”)
No arguments came, so she continued speaking.
(“Little Akina, please tell the Council your new role in the ningen’s life.”)
“Hai, Kurohyou-sama. I am now an Anbu trainee in the Anbu Training Center. Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai. It is a special force of elite ninja that protect the village from the shadows and carries out the much harder tasks and missions.”
Some animals murmured with each other, but the more battle-hardy just nodded at this noble rank their little ningen friend had earned.
(“Will this interfere with your duties as a Guardian?”) asked the Head of the extremely large clan of Usagi.
“Hai. This new training will take up much of my time, but Kouseki will take my place, since I cannot have her with me unless I want to be revealed.”
This seemed to calm the animals down. Kouseki's loyalty was well known, especially since she was a wolf. The interesting thing was, however, that Kouseki was also not from Konoha. She has yet to tell them where she comes from, but they trusted her to tell them when the time was right. Her aura was different from theirs, yet comforting.
(“Speaking of revealing...”) started an owl. He looked at Kouseki with his unblinking eyes. She nodded before padding around Akina to sit in front of her. Akina turned to face the wolf.
(“This is an S-class village secret, in both the ninja village and ours. No word of this shall escape this meeting.”)
Akina nodded. A red fox took this opportunity to trot its way forward, next to Kouseki.
(“Akina-chan. What do you know of the Kyuubi no Kitsune?”) she asked.
“12 years ago on October 10th, we were told that the Leader of the Demon Fox Clan, Kyuubi no Kitsune, was defeated in battle by the Fourth Hokage, Kazama Arashi.”
(“Lies.”)
The line of her mouth tilted downwards, but she didn't seem too surprised. After all, she was just as aware of the world around them as the animals themselves.
(“Kyuubi no Kitsune was too strong to be defeated by ningen. The blond one had to seal him with the help of Shinigami, the Death God.”)
A sudden image of a large demon with red skin and white hair appeared in her mind. She frowned some more. She hasn't seen colors since the day after she had been found by Leaf-nin. And back then it had been the same image flashing through her head through the sea of darkness she was accustomed to.
Why was she imagining these things?
(“The bijuu was sealed inside a jinchuuriki; a ningen who had just been born was used.”)
A cheerful, yet somehow sad laugh popped into her mind.
“Uzumaki Naruto.”
The fox blinked before nodding. The answer had come instantly, and there seemed to be no fear or malice in the child's voice.
(“Correct.”)
It all made sense now. The sneers; the glaring; the hatred. Akina was blind since birth, that much she can remember. But in the place of her sight, she had been able to sense people's spirits and their auras. It had always kept her safe.
And it helped her see past Naruto's mask of happiness. There was always a sad aura surrounding his being, whether he was laughing or grinning.
And now, after learning his secret, the respect she had for her team mate grew. To be able to withstand all the hatred and still be able to smile, no matter how fake it was, was amazing.
The fox took her silence as acceptance and went back to its spot in the semi-circle. Kouseki smiled faintly, proud of her little pup for not being like the ignorant humans.
The bear cleared his throat, emitting a loud growling noise.
(“Akina and Kouseki. That is all we need of you for now. Thank you for coming. Dismissed.”)
They bowed towards the council (they all either smiled, grinned, or nodded back), and left for home.
Tomorrow was her first day at the Training Center.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Akina walked through the main streets of the village, successfully ignoring any fearful glares sent her way and avoided knocking into anyone, creeping out the villagers even more. Kouseki walked three steps behind the girl, keeping a watchful eye out for anything wrong.
She was deep in thought about the meetings she had just left. It wasn't the information she received that bothered her; it was what happened during the explanation.
The girl accepted the fact that she was blind. In fact, she now preferred it that way after experiencing first-hand how awful the world can be. Then how was she able to see the Shinigami? It was a gut-feeling that had identified the god, and it unnerved the usually calm and collected kunoichi.
It wasn't a genjutsu that was for sure. There was absolutely no reason for it to be one.
Akina was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice Kiba and his team approaching, with the dog boy and his companion up in front, hollering and barking at her.
“OI! AKINA-CHAN!”
Shino raised a silent eyebrow at his former classmate's behavior. She was usually extremely sensitive to everything around her, despite being sightless. Something must be bothering her.
Kurenai and Hinata walked behind the boys. Hinata seemed a little worried with the girl who had treated her equally and didn't look down on her.
Kiba stopped directly in front of Akina, blocking her way. Akamaru barked questionably before hopping into Akina's arms, surprising her a bit.
“Neh...?”
Akamaru barked happily before licking her face in greeting. She smiled faintly before hugging the small white dog close, nuzzling him.
“Ohayo minna...”
Kouseki nodded at the jounin before smiling at all the “kiddies”, as she so fondly calls them. The rookie jounin nodded back, silently observing her team interact with the other genin.
“YO!”
(“Hey!”)
“Ohayo, Akina-san.”
“O-Ohayo…”
“Is anything wrong Akina-chan?” he came over and felt her forehead before frowning at the younger girl. The other girls smiled at the big brother attitude he got around Akina.
“The baka and teme aren’t bugging you are they?”
She shook her head. They weren’t bothering her. Too much was happening these days that was all. But what could she tell him? That Naruto has a 150 meter demon sealed inside his stomach, she’s an Anbu in training, and she can suddenly see visions of the Shinigami?
No thank you, she’d rather not make Kiba stutter like Hinata for the next few hours.
Kiba didn’t look convinced, but he accepted it, for now.
They all chatted for a few minutes before departing for their separate destinations.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
(“Ohayo Akina-neechan!”) greeted the young puma cub as she was approached by a short Anbu that smelled like the earth after it rained. It was a pleasant, natural scent.
Akina nodded, still not used to wearing the uniform. Anbu did not receive their cloaks and tattoos until they were assigned to the squads, so she was stuck wearing just the bare armor in the middle of autumn, when the winds started to pick up in Konoha.
She bent down and made some hand seals, causing right hand to glow an eerie purple color. Kyoukomune started at the hand without fear, trusting the girl to not hurt her. The hand touched her forehead briefly before the glow faded away.
Kokoro heisetsu no jutsu (Mind link jutsu)
(“Kyoukomune-chan. This telepathic connection will help us communicate.”) With that, Akina led the way out of the forest.
Kyou nodded before bounding after the girl, towards the training center, which was located near the Hokage tower. This meant that it was also located near the forest where she lived, so it was no problem waiting for the young Takamaru.
They arrived at the tower without a problem, though they were given curious looks. They haven’t had an Anbu (or even an Anbu in training) that young-looking since Itachi. Thankfully, they didn’t recognize Akina since she had put her hair up in a bun with senbon, leaving her bangs free.
They went up to the receptionist in the main lobby, who looked up and stared at the number on the girl’s mask.
“Hmm, number 55. Go to Enkou-sensei’s room in Room E34.”
(“Enkou…flame…well HE sounds like a nice teacher…”)
(“It’s just a code-name, Kyou-chan. All Anbu are given code names and masks upon graduating…”)
They entered a room full of older shinobi, all idly chatting or patiently waiting for the sensei to come. All had the same mask as Akina, but different numbers.
(“Neechan! They are seated in number order. Number 55 is in the very front row, next to the guy that smells like sweat and dirt.”)
Akina tilted her head before taking in all the scents in the room. She made her way over to he man (number 54), attracting everybody’s attention as she walked. It was inevitable, she supposed. She was the shortest there, and she was walking in with a little mountain lion kitten.
Whispers erupted, painfully reminding Akina of the streets of Konoha. She frowned behind her mask before sitting down next to number 54, a tall man with brown hair and a natural tan. He looked at Akina, and Akina ‘looked’ at him, both silent.
He extended his hand for a shake. “Number 54, but you can call me Kenshiki; pride.”
Akina took the hand and shook it firmly. “55. Gaia; earth.”
He chuckled. “You don’t talk much do ya?”
She shook her head, letting Kyou jump onto her desk.
“That’s all right. Everybody’s nervous here. It’s actually kind of funny. A little kid like you is calmer than half of the ninja in here; and they’re most likely twice your age!” he laughed heartily, lightening up the tense atmosphere that was surrounding the room. Some other Anbu-to-be’s grumbled good-naturally, but otherwise didn’t say anything.
The door slammed open, revealing a man with a glaring red bird mask, who strode into the room, which immediately became quiet at the loud sound.
When he reached the front, he swept his gaze over everybody in the room, making several people have to suppress shivers. It was like he was judging your soul.
“My codename is Enkou. You will all call me Enkou-sensei, or sir. NOTHING else. Got that, maggots?”
Everyone nodded or murmured their agreement. Enkou folded his arms, and the shinobi in the room got the feeling that he was glaring at them all.
“I said: GOT THAT, MAGGOTS?!”
“SIR, YES, SIR!”
“Good.”
(“I get the feeling that we’ll be having an interesting time here…”) came the grumbling thought from the young mountain lion, who was looking skeptically at their new sensei.
In return, all she got was a mumble of agreement.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
Three days later, the two had adjusted to the hectic and brutal training, and were, to say the least, dead tired. Kakashi had noticed, being as perceptive as he was, and chuckled inwardly. He remembered his own training, which didn’t happen to him until he was a teenager, and even then, it was cruel and unusually punishment--that training.
Of course, Naruto and Sasuke didn’t notice. Akina hid it too well, and the ‘training’ she got from Kakashi didn’t burn out her energy as much as they thought (she acted tired around them).
He watched discreetly over the edge of his book as the three kids continued the exercise. Two people were to throw kunai at the third while that third member was sparring with a kage bunshin (Kakashi’s, or their own, in Naruto’s case).
Akina flinched slightly as Kakashi hit a bruise she got from Anbu training on her chest. She overcame the pain and caught an incoming kunai from Sasuke, swiping at her sensei’s head before bending backwards to dodge a flurry of shuriken from Naruto.
A timer rang, signaling the switch that happened every 15 minutes. It was now Naruto’s turn to spar.
“YOSH! My turn!” He grinned and ran towards the middle of the clearing.
Over the last couple weeks of being on Team 7, Akina had earned the right to be treated the same from Kakashi and Sasuke, after proving that despite being blind, she can be just as good as regular ninja. She at least had grudging respect from Sasuke, as he shot a side glance at the girl before taking his position.
“Something wrong?”
Akina tilted her head. Sasuke didn’t usually talk, like she did. To see him initiating conversation was surprising, but it relieved her slightly. Was the darkness in his heart letting up a little?
“He hit a bruise.”
He nodded at the answer before throwing a barrage of the sharp pointy things at Naruto, who looked slightly startled at the large number weapons coming in from Sasuke. He yelled out obscenities before attacking the Kakashi clone, who was smiling (was that a smile?).
After a few more curses, the timer rang again. Kakashi clapped his book shut and put it away. “Training’s over for today, guys, tomorrow’s missions. Meet at the tower as usual…”
He gave a cheerful wave before disappearing.
“It better not be those annoying D missions again! I hate those!” grumbled Naruto as he got up. The other genin stayed silent, but he knew that they agreed internally.
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 7:53 am
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:28 pm
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Err, not necessarily. I thought that the term explained itself, but I guess not. And no, it's not a term from the Narutoverse.
By saying that Akina is a Guardian, I'm saying that she protects the beasts of Konoha, and helps them out when she can. You know, like if somebody targets and kills usagi just for fun; then, Akina has to step in and get them to stop. That kind of thing.
(coughs slightly) Babysitting, too. That's the problem with some animal families. One of the parents always has to stay home and guard the kiddies, so they end up getting less food and possibly dying. Akina helps out in these situations.
But I guess now that she's an Anbu trainee, she won't have time for this kind of thing, neh? She'll be too tired getting the crap beaten out of her by the awesome and sadistic Enkou-sensei. xd . Poor poor Kyou.
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Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2006 6:05 pm
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